Broken Things and Dead Things
by SexySugarCubes
Summary: When there is no where for you to run or hide, what do you do? Ashley is about to discover there is more to the world than she first thought. She will have to face the tragedy that took her to the Institute, and another that is unfolding before her. As well as facing the fine line between love and hate. When death comes knocking, everyone eventually answers. Jace/OC (Pre CoB)


**Broken Things and Dead Things **

**Prologue**

_"You've known Jace what, a month? I've known him for seven years. And all that time I've known him, I've only seen him look at one other person the way he looks at you." Izzy told Clary, her blue eyes glinting in the light. She looked different, older almost. _

_"One other person?" Clary asked. For the whole time she'd known Jace, he'd never mentioned that he had a girlfriend; in fact, he'd never mentioned anything about any previous relationships. _

_"Her name was Ashley Winters. She lived at the Institute with us." Isabelle told Clary, her voice clipped and void of emotion. Clary could see the pain in her eyes, making her wonder what exactly had happened to this Ashley girl. _

_"Where is she now?" Clary hesitated. Did she really want to know? What if Ashley had just been away and Jace had been playing mind games with her this whole time? Acting like he cared._

_"She... she's dead." Isabelle avoided looking at Clary, her voice barely above a whisper and full of pain. It was still a hard topic for Izzy to talk about. _

_"Oh. I'm sorry." Clary bit her lip. She didn't want to press Izzy too much, but she wanted to know what had happened. She wanted to know why Jace had never mentioned her before. "What happened to her?" _

_"I don't think I should tell you..." Izzy trailed off. Clary could tell it was a sore topic for the other girl. Probably something she didn't usually talk about. _

_"Please?" Isabelle sighed and Clary was afraid she had angered the girl but when Izzy raised her eyes from the ground they were watery from unshed tears. _

_"I'll tell you, but I'll start from the beginning." Izzy raked her hair back, taking a deep and shaky breath. "This whole thing started when Ash showed up at the Institute one day. She was covered in blood and looked terrified..." _

Ashley Winters shivered as the cold November air swirled around her, whipping her blonde hair into her face. Her cheeks were tracked with her tears as she walked down the street towards the Institute. It was where she had been heading with her family before they were attacked. Blood covered her torn black gear, with the large rips exposing her pale flesh. Bruises had already begun to appear along the side of her face where deep gashes had been etched into her skin. Her whole body ached with pain and her pace was slowing as the pain in her ankle became worse, spreading like white-hot fire throughout her whole leg. She wished now that she hadn't lost her stele.

She looked over her shoulder and a glimmer of movement caught her eye. Her breath caught in her throat as she froze. A dark figure was moving towards her at an incredible pace, faster than any human and faster than most Downworlders. She turned back around and broke into a run, her feet pounding along the pavement as she pushed her tired body to the limit. The Institute was only metres away as she willed her legs to move faster, driving through the pain. Shadowhunters didn't fear death or pain, they used it to motivate themselves.

Her hands slammed against the handles of the door and after a moments pause the doors swung open. She staggered inside the Institute, dropping to her knees as the doors closed behind her with a dull thud. Her whole body flared with pain as she threw up, her stomach contents mixing with blood and spraying across the carpeted floor. A groan passed her lips as she forced herself to her feet and over to the elevator. She had to get to the infirmary. She could already feel the demons poison moving through her body, setting her veins on fire.

Once she had reached the main part of the Institute she could hear the sound of voices coming from the kitchen. One female, two male. She figured it was likely to be Isabelle and Alec Lightwood accompanied by Jace Wayland. She knew all three of them from the times she had spent at the Institute. Izzy and Jace had to be about fifteen now and Alec sixteen. Alec was her age and the two were close friends. She also got along well with Izzy, but she sometimes found it hard not to knock Jace's head against the wall. She knew a few arrogant people, but his arrogance was a whole new level.

As she walked towards the voices, she tripped over her own feet. She reached out to the wall for support, grimacing as she knocked something that clattered to the floor and smashed, sending shards of glass across the floor. Her vision was beginning to blur as her legs have out beneath her, causing her to hit the hard ground she was walking across. She winced as the glass across the floor cut into her already battered body, but she didn't have the energy to make any sounds of pain. She could no longer hear the voices coming from the kitchen and figured she'd made enough noise to arouse suspicion.

Ashley tried to push herself up into a sitting position as she heard footsteps approach. There were murmurs of speech before a gasp of surprise she guessed to be Izzy due to its pitch. A pair of hands were on her shoulder next, turning her onto her back, causing her to cough, red liquid spraying out of her mouth. She guessed she must've punctured a lung. Her vision blurred more as she started to fade out and a gasp of pain escaped her as she felt hands applying pressure to the worst of her injuries. That was when she felt the signature burning sensation of a stele. One of them was carving an iratze into her skin. Moments later the pain began to numb in her body, but her head was still pounding.

She blinked a couple of times, willing her eyes to fade back into focus rather than continuing to be blurred. She didn't know if it was because of the pounding in her head, or the tears in her eyes. She didn't want to cry. She didn't want to show weakness in front of her three friends. Before she could think on it any more, black spots began to dance across her vision. She shook her head to try and clear them, the movement sending a shooting pain through her head. She screwed her eyes shut, trying to stop the pain. The last thoughts going through her mind as the darkness closed in around her, was that fact that she was alone now. The last of her family.

**A/N Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed the prologue :) It will be set before the City of Bones era, just because I'd like to explore the characters before they met Clary :) Please review guys :) **

**No reviews = No chapters :) **


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